Email is a zombie.

• You can knock it off one by one, but it just keeps coming.
• You can’t kill it. You can only hope to contain it.
• All it wants to do is eat your brains.
• It’s been dead for two years; it just doesn’t know it yet.

But along with some answers, the announcement of Apple’s much-ballyhooed device raises some questions. For instance, I was already asked yesterday when we can expect to see a “10-inch version” of our research news site. I could have just opened the Web browser on my 10-inch HP Mini netbook, pointed to the site and said, “Voila!” But of course that’s not what he meant. He meant when can we expect to see a tablety, slidely, swirly, touchy version of the site like the stuff shown in today’s wow-factor demo.

Um, let me get back to you on that.

Here are some more top-of-the-head iPad questions for those who work in higher education:

1.) What will the iPad mean for the future of college textbooks? With traditional textbook costs running high, and e-books costing half what a large doorstop version costs, will students and parents make the plunge into iPadland and how fast will textbook publishers follow?

2.) What will it do for the use of technology in the classroom? Rather than just serving as a envy-generating machine on which to view and listen to the same stuff you can already view and listen to on other devices or the Web, are there real opportunities here for creating new collaborative experiences?

3.) Will in be embraced or pilloried by faculty? I suppose the answer to that one is, it depends on the professor. Some don’t allow laptops or smartphones in the classroom now. But what if all the student’s textbooks are on this new device? How kindly will faculty take to something they may just consider a giant distraction or worse — a cheating machine?

4.) Will existing iPhone / iPod apps need to change? For folks who have gone to the effort of creating a great iPhone app for your school or athletics team or library, etc. (or are in the process as we are) it’s not an insignificant task. All the old apps will work on the new iPad, but is it worth it to create yet another one to take advantage of what the iPad has to offer (whatever that may be)?

<siderant>I remember with gauzy nostalgia the days back in,  say, 2003, when we were all going to design and develop once and publish everywhere with CSS and XML and XHTML. No more mobile version, print version, text-only version. Today we have a mobile version, an iPhone app, a Blackberry app, an Android app, an iPad app, etc. What happened to the dream, man!</siderant>

5.) Will your app become your website? Or will your website become your app? Along those lines, I can sorta kinda imagine a time when the whole mobile-version-of-your-website vs. standalone-app model breaks down and your app *is* your website. Or your website is your app. Or something like that (still thinking this through, sorta kinda).

6.) And most importantly, who will be the first school to provide all its incoming freshman with an iPad? I guarantee you a cover story in the Chronicle of Higher Ed and the NY Times Educational supplement.

–lori

Every time I wear them I say to myself — sometimes silently, sometimes out loud — “these are my Inauguration boots.”

One year ago today, my Inauguration boots saved my life (or at least my toes) as I stood in them for 12 hours straight along with thousands of my fellow frozen citizens to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

One year later, the warm and fuzzy feeling of my Inauguration boots hasn’t faded, even if the warm and fuzzy feeling of the Inauguration has a little bit.

A lot has happened in that one year: troop increases in Afghanistan; unprecedented bailouts of the financial, insurance, and automotive industries; a stalled healthcare reform effort; a climate change summit that went nowhere; an aborted terrorist attack; and now a natural disaster in Haiti and an electoral disaster in Massachusetts.

A lot can change in a year. And my Inauguration boots remind me that winters do end.

–lori

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
   Attended a presidential inauguration, toured around the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, read a book in the New York Public Library reading room, visited Hyde Park, visited Rhode Island, grew a tomato (about 14 of them, in fact!)
   
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   Of course I didn’t keep my New Years’ resolutions, but I’ve already made about 34 for next year. A sample: I will wake up by 7:00 am every morning, I will walk to work at least one day a week, I will read a biography of each of the 43 U.S. presidents, I will go to two movies a week, I will start yoga lessons again, etc., etc., etc.
   
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   A member of the bridge club had a lovely daughter, and co-worker friends adopted a son who is too cute to be allowed.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
   No.
5. What countries did you visit?
   Ireland, Canada.
   
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
   A healthy routine.
   
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory?
   January 21 — the Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama. I was on my feet for more than 12 hours straight in 20-degree temperatures, but it was worth it.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Um, did I already mention I grew a tomato?
9. What was your biggest failure?
   I quit yoga classes even though I really enjoyed them because I couldn’t get out or work early enough to make it on time. This really sucks, since all I was trying to do was leave at 4:30 one day a week. It seems like no one cares if you come in a half hour late, but try to leave a half hour early, and good luck to you. Am trying again later this month with a later class.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Nope, another illness- and injury-free year, touch wood.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    My new car, a Psion xA. It’s fantastic! It’s purple with a tan racing stripe down the side. It looks like a 1970s track suit. It’s the first time I actually purchased the car that I had a car crush on.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    Every year I answer this question last! What does that say about me? I’ll say President Obama, because I remain hopeful that he knows what he’s doing.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
    Whoever the hell organized those “tea party” ass-hats who went around this summer calling President Obama a Nazi and a communist and a granny killer.
14. Where did most of your money go?
    Usual stuff: mortgage, electricity, Internet access, trinkets.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    The World Series, though it didn’t end to my liking.
    
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2009?
    “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    * happier or sadder? The same. * thinner or fatter? Fatter (sigh). * richer or poorer? The same.
    
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Blogging. Running. Going to movies.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Procrastinating.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
    Down in the ‘burbs with the ‘rents.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
    it’s a close call between Mr. Goddess and my mother and father.
22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
    I fell in love in 1990, and it took.
23. How many one night stands in this last year?
    This year marked the 19th year of my one-night-stand dry spell.
24. What was your favourite TV program?
    Have loved loved loved season 4 of Dr. Who this year, and am indecently excited about the series finale tomorrow! Will dearly miss David Tennant.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    I don’t “hate” anyone who I actually know. I hate people in the abstract. People like Glenn Beck and Tiger Woods.
26. What was the best book(s) you read?
    The Illustrated Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    I have to say Glee. If it weren’t for Glee, my knowledge of both the Beyonce and Wicked oeuvres would be severely limited.
28. What did you want and get?
    A Palm Pre!
29. What did you want and not get?
    A repeat Phillies world championship.
30. What were your favourite films of this year?
    As usual I haven’t yet seen most of the “important” movies this year, but if we’re going by movies I enjoyed the most, I have to say Up, In the Loop, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek, An Education, and Another Harvest Moon.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I turned 38 this year, and was in Levittown vising the parents and Mr. Goddess who had a summer job as a park ranger at Independence Hall this year.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    A much better healthcare reform bill than the one it looks like we’re ending up with.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
    Dark jeans, long sleeves, high-heeled boots, shorter and shorter hair.
34. What kept you sane?
    Mr. Goddess, that long-suffering man.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    It’s a toss-up between David Tennant and John Barrowman. I love me my androgynous British sci-fi guys.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
    Healthcare. Don’t even get me started.
37. Who will you miss?
    Harry Kalas. “That ball is ………. outta here!”
38. Who was the best new person you met?
    I met a bunch of great Twitter people in real life this year — most at the HighEdWeb 2009 conference. Including @Robin2go, @rachelreuben, @lanejoplin, @TImNekritz, @KarlynM, and @tsand.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
    It’s a lot harder to get away with mediocrity these days. You *must* be awesome, or you will be called out. This is both a good thing, and exhausting.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
    Take up your arms
    Sons and daughters
    We will arise from the bunkers
    By land, by sea, by dirigible
    We’ll leave our tracks untraceable now
    –”Sons and Daughters” by the Decemberists

The changes involve updated privacy settings and the discontinuation of regional networks (read the open letter here). But judging by the comments, it’s not privacy settings that most users care about.

What the users really want is a dislike button.

This past February Facebook unveiled its “Like” button, which allows friends to give each others’ status updates, Wall comments, photos, etc. a big thumbs up. There is no corresponding thumbs down button. And it seems Facebook users don’t like that one bit.

Here are some typical comments:

please dude make a “dislike” button! everyone wants it!

BUTTTT………Dislike button pleasssee mark!!!

a fail button!

dislike button- hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dislike button!!! thatd definitelyyyyy be awesomeeeeeee!!!

(By the way, the second most commonly requested feature based on these comments? Customizable background graphics/wallpaper and music. MySpace, in other words.)

I vote thumbs down on the dislike button. Its proponents say they need the ability to say that something sucks. And I know we can all learn positive lessons from negative feedback. But I feel like there are already many, many venues to express our dislike of something. Facebook is supposed to be about sharing and connecting, or asking questions.

We’ve certainly had legitimate criticism and negative comments posted to our university’s Facebook page — and that’s totally fine and appropriate. But imagining how a dislike button would affect higher education pages is a bit depressing. What would happen if I posted, say, the upcoming Glee Club concert (sorry, Glee is on) and it’s met with a fistful of downward facing thumbs? Total bummer, man. A dislike button would make it that much easier to toss off a thoughtless, hurtful diss and could turn a community of “fans” into a much sadder place to be.

So no dislike button for me. And no wallpaper while you’re at it, please. I dislike wallpaper.

–lori

8:02 — Lots of handsome dress greys in the audience.

8:04 — The president starts with a succinct and effective recap on the events in Afghanistan so far, from 9/11 through the war resolutions in Congress to the NATO commitment – as cadets break out their digital cameras.

8:06 — “Then, in early 2003, the decision was made to wage a second war in Iraq. The wrenching debate over the Iraq War is well-known and need not be repeated here.” You’re so right, sir. Let’s not bicker and argue about who invaded who…

8:12 — “I opposed the war in Iraq precisely because I believe that we must exercise restraint in the use of military force, and always consider the long-term consequences of our actions.” Did the president just honestly admit that he opposed a war in front of a military crowd? Very classy, sir.

8:15 – The president breaks it down: We must deny al Qaeda a safe-haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government … We will meet these objectives in three ways.”

8:16 — Way the First: 30,000 troops will deploy in 2010 to target the insurgency and get more Afghans into the fight.

8:18 — Way the Second: Pursue a civilian strategy with the Karzai government. “The days of providing a blank check are over.”

8:19 — Way the Third — We will recognize that our success is linked to Pakistan.

8:22 — To recap (the president has obviously taken a public speaking class) — “These are the three core elements of our strategy: a military effort to create the conditions for a transition; a civilian surge that reinforces positive action; and an effective partnership with Pakistan.”

8:24 — Obama takes on some of the critics of the war in Afghanistan. To those who say this is another Vietnam, we were attacked first! To those who say we should leave the troop levels where they are, this would just be “muddling through.”

8:25 — And to those who say we should have a more expansive, open-ended commitment? “As president, I refuse to set goals that go beyond our responsibility, our means, our or interests. And I must weigh all of the challenges that our nation faces. I don’t have the luxury of committing to just one.”

8:26 – PBS keeps catching cadets nodding off in the audience. Did these guys have a 14-mile march before the speech or something?

8:31 — Time for the president to wake this crowd up! “Our union was founded in resistance to oppression. We do not seek to occupy other nations. We will not claim another nation’s resources or target other peoples because their faith or ethnicity is different from ours. What we have fought for — what we continue to fight for — is a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples’ children and grandchildren can live in freedom and access opportunity.”

8:35 — Bring it home, sir. “It is easy to forget that when this war began, we were united — bound together by the fresh memory of a horrific attack …. I refuse to accept the notion that we cannot summon that unity again. … We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might, and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure, and a future that represents not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes. Thank you, God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.”

–lori

I managed to piece things together from the tweets that crossed my deck, but it wasn’t until I got home that I got a visual of the story that you have no doubt heard all about by now: A six-year-old boy (named Falcon, no less) was reported to be flying across the Colorado skies on some kind of platform attached to a large helium balloon. Hours later, it was discovered that young Falcon was not in mortal danger but was in fact hiding in a box in the attic. He is, I hope, severely grounded — in more than one sense of the word.

And just like that, “balloonboy” was a trending topic on Twitter, Falcon T-shirts were available for purchase, and Balloon Boy Halloween costumes were in the works.

The 24-hour news networks of course lost their collective minds over this story, cutting away live for hours of balloon boy action. Why? What were they hoping to catch? Live footage of a young boy crashing to his death? And if they weren’t sure of the facts of the story — which they obviously weren’t, given its anti-climactic end — why go live in the first place?

The media are like those dogs in the similarly balloon-themed movie Up, easily distracted by whatever shiny new — SQUIRREL!! — crosses their path. I should be more annoyed at the mainstream media about this than I am. After all, Balloon Boy spawned a great deal of social media silliness that I admit I’ve gotten more than one chuckle out of.

Still, does everything have to be given over to instant gratification silliness now? With newspapers folding — for good, not just in half — and television news turning toward entertainment and personality pundits, where do we go for serious, well-reported journalism? Do we all have to start reading The Economist?

And just to round off the Up parallels, #flyingsquirells was also a trending topic on Twitter at the same time as #balloonboy. I have no idea why. Perhaps a flying squirrel was trapped in a balloon somewhere. Now that’s a story!

–lori

UPDATE: The media coverage has now shifted to covering … the media coverage of the story. Hands off, mainstream media! That’s the bloggers’ job.

• Transcript of speech

I’m worried about Obama’s speech tonight.

I’m worried that he’s going to listen to the pre-speech pontificating I’ve been hearing and go all hyper-specific about the kind of healthcare reform he wants. He’s been pretty quiet on this score and that hasn’t worked, this line of reasoning goes. Time to give the American people the 4-1-1.

I think this approach would be a mistake.

I think a litany of details on public options, Medicare expansion, and healthcare co-ops would lead to a slow death by boredom in living rooms (and newsrooms) across America. Instead President Obama needs to be a cardiologist, not a neurologist: he needs to address the heart, not the head.

I want a full-throated, emotional outpouring from the president as to why healthcare reform is a moral issue. And I’m not an emotional gal. “Just the facts, ma’am.” That’s me. But in this case, we need the president to fire us up, not bog us down with minutiae.

Here we go.

8:06 — First lady, guests arrive. I  wonder if there will be a “Skutnik Row” of “ordinary Americans”, like they have at state of the union? In this case, I hope so.

8:11 – As the president arrives, PBS is providing a thoughtful analysis of what it means if certain senators applaud. Or not.

8:17 — I like the beginning so far. The tone is combative. Good start.

8:20 — Nice! The badass Obama showed up! “But we did not come here just to clean up crises. We came to build a future. … I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”

8:23 — The President makes the controversial move of acknowledging that there are, like, other countries and stuff. “More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won’t pay the full cost of care. It happens every day. … We are the only advanced democracy on Earth – the only wealthy nation – that allows such hardships for millions of its people.”

8:25 — “I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn’t, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch.” That one gets the first (and maybe only) bilateral standing O from the hall.

8:30 – “Well the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action.” Please be true please be true please be true …

8:31 — “The plan I’m announcing tonight would meet three basic goals: It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. ” Sounds like a plan to me!

8:32 — “As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.” What I can’t believe is that this isn’t against the law now.

8:37 – The president calls the death panel charge, “a lie pure and simple” and GOP ain’t standing. Wow.

8:39 – Whoa! One congressman shouts out “LIE!” when the president says the plan won’t cover illegal immigrants. Is this a town hall meeting all of a sudden?

8:45 — A Ha! We have a public option sighting. “Some have suggested that that the public option go into effect only in those markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable policies. Others propose a co-op or another non-profit entity to administer the plan. These are all constructive ideas worth exploring.

“But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice. And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need.” (Sorry for the bold italics, but I love it when someone finally calls attention to the fact that right now insurance bureaucrats stand between you and your doctor, and no one seems so incensed about that.)

8: 46 — State schools get a shout out from Obama! Nice analogy, sir! “It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.”

8:47 — Obama throws some red meat to the base. Yummy! “Part of the reason I faced a trillion dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for – from the Iraq War to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make that same mistake with health care.”

8:50 — Republicans asses are nailed to their seats. They’re not even standing for reforms to Medicare that will help seniors pay for catastrophic perscription drug costs. Aren’t they worried? I’m sorry, but I feel this speech is going over very well. I wonder how they are going to spin this on Fox.

8:53 — FINALLY! “But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.”

8:55 — I was worried at the beginning of the speech that the president would not bring the emotion. I needn’t have worried. You can hear a pin drop in the chamber, Nancy Pelosi is crying, as the president recalls the late Teddy Kennedy:

“He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick; and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance; what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent – there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.

“That large-heartedness – that concern and regard for the plight of others – is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand. A belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgement that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.”

Can I get an amen!

Better yet, can I get a healthcare reform bill?

–lori

Keep the kids home from school! Lock your doors! Write your congressman! We have to protect our children! No, not from swine flu — from the president!

Jim Greer, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, wins the prize this week as either Right Wing Wingnut in Chief or Best Exploiter of Feigned Outrage for Short-Term Political Gain. Either way, his and others attempts to block President Barack Obama’s planned back-to-school speech to kids next week hits a new low in cynical crapitude.

Here is Greer’s press release, issued earlier this week:

As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology. The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power. …

President Obama and the Democrats wouldn’t dream of allowing prayer in school. Christmas Parties are now Holiday Parties. But, the Democrats have no problem going against the majority of American people and usurping the rights of parents by sending Pied Piper Obama into the American classroom.

I’m kinda at a loss here.

–lori

Jesus Christ, are you kidding me with these friggin idiots?! Just stab me in the ear with a ballpoint, it will hurt less.

Many of the same hardened corps of nutballs who are convinced that President Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim are now bringing their special brand of crazy to a town hall near you. The subject: health care reform. Or as some would have it: the end of Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

When Obama has to begin his health care speeches by reassuring the more shout-y elements of the audience that he is not in favor of allowing their grandmas to die slowly, you get a sense of how far out of hand this debate has gotten.

It’s getting embarrassing, man. The rest of the world doesn’t have this problem. The rest of the world doesn’t think that making sure everybody can go to the doctor without worrying about how much it will cost is a sign of the oncoming Rapture. And they watch our news! What they must think of us?!

–lori